Double Trouble

Libby and Drew have been home sick all week. :( We thought it was just the typical cold/bug with the coughing and runny nose. But Drew seemed to have it much worse. He had that barking cough for 2 days and has been miserable. He can't sleep, wants to be held constantly, and just cries that sad cry. I was really coddling him and trying to give Libby attention, but she didn't seem to be that sick. She finally came over to me when I was holding Drew and said, "Hold you, Mama" (which is how they ask to be held since we always asked them: "Mama hold you?"). She then added, "I you other kid, Mama." I looked at her and CRACKED up. Turns out, Drew was misbehaving one night last week after bath and wasn't cooperating to get his PJ's on. So, after running away for the millionth time, Libby and I started to read a story. He was not happy. When Libby and I were reading, he jumped up on us, and said, "Hey, I your other kid, Mama, wait for me!" We still don't know where he got that one from!

So, last night was awful as Drew felt so hot and screamed that his ear hurt. I'm so glad they are finally at a stage when they can tell me what's wrong. Of course, being a speech pathologist, I'm always concerned about their ears. We brought him into our bed and he could not get comfortable. Turns out that Libby was already in there with us. She coughed a lot, but wanted to talk about baby animals and how Daddy needed to buy a new fan - a big one. Perhaps she was having some good dreams? We thought it was funny. Well, she heard Drew talk about his ear, so she started saying hers hurt, too. I put a warm wet washcloth on Drew's ear and he finally fell asleep at 4:45 AM... for about 2 hours.

We called the pediatrician and got in for an appointment this morning. They were such angels and then we found out that they both have double ear infections- only Libby's looked worse! Plus she has some raspy breathing and needed a nebulizer breathing treatment right there. We got a machine to take home to give her treatments 4 times a day for the next few days. Luckily, she was a trooper and didn't mind it at all. The fact that it looked like a puppy dog mask helped, too. So, with a trip to the pharmacy and 4 prescriptions, we hope they are on the road to recovery very soon!

Here's my precious girl in the doctor's office:

This Week

This week has been one of "getting back to normal", whatever that may be. In case you haven't heard (or read my previous posts), we've had a huge snow storm in the DC area recently, with almost 3 feet of the white stuff. We were off of school all last week, so this week, it was back to work for me. But, students were off Monday and we had a 2-hour delay on Tuesday, so already it was off to a hectic start. I hadn't seen my students in a while, so the 1st time back with them required a little extra energy on my part.

Libby and Drew have been getting back to their routine at the sitter, but all seems to be going well. They were so cranky the first few days, which was to be expected. Evenings have been rough. So much so, that Drew was pulled out of the bathtub before even getting wet after taking a huge bite out of Libby's thigh. Plus, not listening to Daddy all evening meant no bath-of-fun for him. So, he went to bed dirty at least once. Guess it won't hurt him, though, right?

I started a low-carb, sugar-free diet 2 weeks ago. So far, it has been rough. The 1st week was horrible as I honestly felt like I was in rehab. I am becoming so much more aware of just how much sugar is in EVERYTHING. I'm trying to also stay away from aspartame/Nutra Sweet and sucralose/Splenda because I've read a lot of bad things about them. I've switched over to a natural sweetener called stevia, which is found in Truvia. I've eliminated fruits for the time being, with the exception of blackberries, which are low in sugar. I won't avoid them forever, but wanted to start with a big "purge" of sugar initially. So, a week went by and I thought I was starting to feel a little better, but decided to chow down a bunch of conversation hearts candy on Valentine's Day. BIG mistake. I was so so sick that night that I thought I had food poisioning or some sort of virus. But I then read that once you eliminate sugar, if you go back to it in excess amounts, your body does NOT like it. So, I took it as a sign to go back to trying this new way of eating to see what will happen. Hopefully I will lose some weight, too. We'll see.

We haven't been to church in 3 straight weeks because of this snow. Our church currently meets at a high school in the area, so if their activities/events are closed on the weekend, then church does not meet. They did meet online for a live webcast twice, but we weren't able to be with them during those times. I, myself, feel drained and need a battery re-boot. Because of the sugar or of no church, I'm not sure... but hopefully I'll get a refill this Sunday.

We've decided that Drew is ready to seriously potty train. He is almost going potty on command- as soon as we put him on it, he goes pee pee. Libby isn't interested and always asks for diapers. So, we've decided to train them one at a time. Tomorrow, I plan to put him in underwear and get ready for the accidents that follow. Let's hope all goes well so we can cut our diapers budget, at least in half!

Until later...

Happy Valentine's Day

What do you think is more idiotic of me... trying to start a sugar-free diet last week when snowed in and the week before Valentine's Day OR letting my children eat chocolate for breakfast today? Hmmm... don't think I really want the answer to this one.

But here are my cutie pies working hard on their "Balentimes" yesterday:

Disney on Ice

Today was a fun day for all of us! We went into the District to see Disney on Ice at the Verizon Center. We drove to Pentagon City, parked at the mall, and took the Metro to the show. Libby and Drew had a blast-- not only at the show itself, but riding the Metro and escalators (many) for the first time. They just giggled and were so proud of themselves whenever they properly dismounted the escalator with help. I was proud of them because I remember that being pretty scary when I was little! Now onto the show...

I surprised Libby and Drew this morning with some Disney clothes. Drew loves, loves, loves "Light Buzz" aka Buzz Lightyear, so I found him a hoodie with him on it. He was in heaven. I also got him a Mickey Mouse sweatsuit, so he got to choose which one to wear. Of course, he chose Light Buzz. Libby had a Disney princess shirt and a Tinkerbell hoodie. It was interesting shopping for those because the boy stuff was cute, but all of the girl Disney stuff was hoochie or just plain UGLY. I mean, there was lots of glitter, cheesy tattoo-looking graphics, or "Tink" written all over. Ok, "TINK"? I remember her as a sweet little fairy known as Tinkerbell. I age myself...

The show was so much fun. We had awesome seats pretty close up. The characters were great and I was amazed at some of the fancy jumps and ice-skating tricks they were doing, especially those in huge costumes! Of course, I can't even walk on ice skates, so anything more than that impresses me. The kids loved it and also got to experience the most expensive cotton candy (yes, TEN DOLLARS EACH) in the world. They had some cute Mouse ears on a crown attached, so that made me feel a little better. That was the cheapest thing they had there. There were all kinds of spinning, light-up, over-stimulating things priced at $20 and up. Popcorn was $7! It's the first time they've had cotton candy and it was like pure crack to them. In fact, when I took it away from them after lunch hours later, Libby had a full-blown meltdown in Johnny Rocket's diner, collapsed on the floor, and screamed, "I NEED IT, I WANT IT!" It was hard not to laugh watching my little addict. Sugar is some scary stuff. We may need an intervention later, especially because when I got home from the grocery hours later, they were eating it again for dessert since they had good dinner.

But I have a Sleeping Beauty and a Prince Charming tonight all snuggled in their beds- crashed out for sure! And to think that tomorrow is Valentine's Day with candy and sugar all over again. Good grief.

My favorite routine was from "It's a Small World". It was really neat with beautiful costumes and lighted moving pieces. Take a look:



Waiting for the Metro:


When we first walked in and are suffering from over-excitement/stimulation:

























Riding home across the Potomac:

The Airplane

We've been doing our very best to try and come up with some "creative" activities so as not to drive one another crazy with cabin fever. It's day 7 of being snowed in and my precious Drew and Libby decided to make "an airplane". This is the result of their collaborative effort...

New Year, New Rooms

For a while now, we've had Libby and Drew in 2 separate rooms. As they've grown older, they just have totally different sleeping habits and when 1 woke up, so did the other, usually when he/she isn't ready to. We were going to separate them eventually, so we decided to just do it now. Darrell and I were so worried they'd be lonely or scared without the other, but they both LOVE their new spaces. Luckily, our guest room was already painted blue, so Drew moved into that room next door. We painted some of his things that were light blue, took a trip to Target for some bedding and decorations and voila- 2 different rooms for 2 different kids! Due to the move, we had no place for our guest room twin beds, so we decided to put them into their rooms with their cribs so that they could easily transition into them soon. Luckily, they have not climbed out of their cribs yet, but since I just typed that, I have officially jinxed us!

Libby's room BEFORE:



Libby's room NOW:





I don't think we have any "before" pictures of Drew's room, but imagine a guest room with a queen sized bed and this same dresser in it (nothing too exciting)!

Drew's NEW "Big Boy Blue" Room (his title):

Snowed In... AGAIN

Last Thursday, the DC area prepared for a monster snow storm that left almost 3 feet of snow in some areas! We stocked up on gas and groceries and got ready to stay in for the weekend. I was off work on Friday and Darrell worked a half day. By Monday, the area was still inundated with snow, so we were both off work again. Tuesday night, another storm came through leaving about 8 more inches. This one also involved lots of high winds and drifting, making it very difficult to clear the roads. So far, we've been home for 7 straight days together and can't wait to "get back to normal" around here. I'm hoping and praying that I go back to work Monday and I never thought you'd hear me say that! I'm wondering if we'll be going to school in July now!

At least we had some fun shoveling out for 2 days... only to do it all over again.